URGENT: Tell the City Again: No New Jails OR Jail-like Facilities in SF! Come to the Final Meeting of the SF Jail Replacement Project Work Group Friday, October 28, 2-5 PM, 25 Van Ness, Room 610

A huge grouping of community groups, service providers, and justice activists stopped a new SF jail last spring, but there’s a danger the City may try again.

Last spring, the City set up the “Work Group to Re-envision the Jail Replacement Project” to decide what to do, or build, or plan INSTEAD of a new jail. At Friday’s meeting they will vote on proposed alternatives to present to the Supervisors. The Workgroup had been considering alternatives to to jail construction and is proposing some strong and viable community based solutions, including more housing and reentry services. But now the list of proposals includes building a smaller jail, renovating jail cells, and a locked mental facility, in spite of overwhelming public and workgroup opinion against jail facilities. See list of proposals at http://tinyurl.com/zk395r9

We defeated the proposed jail last year; we can’t let the Mayor and Sheriff turn this around! Please come and speak out. We need everyone’s voice.

The No New SF Coalition has an 8-Step Plan for a jail-free San Francisco, based on open user-led facilities, community investment in housing and services, separating services from law enforcement, equitable access to care for all, bail and bond reform, pathways to permanent housing, and immediate closure of 850 Bryant. See http://tinyurl.com/jqurr7j The Coalition’s longer and more detailed report, Build Justice, Not Jails, is available at http://tinyurl.com/h7w2rmg.